User Reviews

There is a great deal of depth to this anime, far beyond the surface level cries of 'sexual exploitation' that some are spouting. The society depicted in this anime mirrors our own in a few unique ways. For one, I do not look at the process of piloting the FRANXX as 'male dominance'. The themes evident here are immediately sexual. As such, the male-female duo is not unlike the act of procreation
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There is a great deal of depth to this anime, far beyond the surface level cries of 'sexual exploitation' that some are spouting. The society depicted in this anime mirrors our own in a few unique ways. For one, I do not look at the process of piloting the FRANXX as 'male dominance'. The themes evident here are immediately sexual. As such, the male-female duo is not unlike the act of procreation in our world. Much like our world, the female is responsible for generating 'life'. The male plugs into the female and both work together to create a child. In DARLING in the FRANXX, this same duo is creating the energy, or life, to pilot the mech. Indeed, while many may blindly see this as 'male exploitation of women', can you also not say that the male is dependent on the female partner? The plot even says that they must be in perfect resonance in order to function. They both NEED to rely on one another in order to succeed. There are no duplicitous motives, only harmonious ones.

Philosophies aside, the animation is top-notch, and Zero Two takes the spotlight as an engaging character that adds much to the movement of the plot. She is sporadic, barbaric, romantic, and unusual, and has both a primal and refined take on 'love'. Her affection for her 'darling' is slightly overbearing, if not excessive at times (blood and saliva seem to be regularly shared to symbolize their connection), but it is also refined as she employs the heartfelt and classic pet name 'darling' to describe her feelings. The way she gazes upon him fondly, caresses his head, and confronts those who might challenge their relationship, is indicative of a more civilized mind.

All in all, I look forward to seeing how the merger of these two lost and lonely souls brings them a renewed life together.

So far only two episodes are out and this is what i understand of the show.

The show is a giant metaphor about relationships, sex, and intimacy. The robot is something symbolic of the relationship between the people controlling it, two people who can manage a good relationship are able to control it well and trust in each other. This can be further observed with the societal and parental
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So far only two episodes are out and this is what i understand of the show.

The show is a giant metaphor about relationships, sex, and intimacy. The robot is something symbolic of the relationship between the people controlling it, two people who can manage a good relationship are able to control it well and trust in each other. This can be further observed with the societal and parental pressure to have an operating relationship (robot) that these characters were expected of having.

The main character, though, has obvious troubles of intimacy and understanding of what a relationship, reflecting his inability to pilot with just anyone. This is where Zero 2 has problems. She can't maintain an effective relationship with most people since its forced and they don't fully accept her. She will try to "pilot" it solo, this creates a toxic relationship that hurts both herself and her partner, often killing her partner.

All of this is wrapped up in a ridiculous and gorgeous package that trigger animation is known to offer. Extremely entertaining, tons of sexual innuendos, and a very interesting way to deliver a metaphoric commentary on today's relationships. Can't wait to see where the show goes next!

Edit: Now that i'm 8 episodes in i'm going to have to knock off a star for a couple reasons.
1. Hiro is a super boring character. Extremely bland, predictable, lacks personality. He doesn't have any interesting thoughts especially after the 5th episode.
2. The animation/art is usually pretty good and excellent in key moments. However, the bad moments are REALLY bad. Extremely obvious when the work is outsourced. It grossly contrasts the moments/episodes that are handled extremely well (such as the first episode). It's at its worst when the character models look awful and the environment is plain and boring.
2.5. To pair with the animation, some episodes and scenes within the episode don't seem well directed at all. The first two episodes and a couple others have some excellent direction and scene construction that communicate the show to the viewer extremely well. A lot of this is somewhat lacking in several of what i dub to be the low budget episodes.

Overall i feel like the show has taken a step backwards from its original episodes. Hopefully it will turn around and progress the plot while better developing Hiro since he remains to be the weakest part of the show.

What a strong debut! The show is like Kill La Kill, Gundam 00, and Gurren Lagann all had a baby together, which for me is awesome because it combines concepts from series that I love. Studio Trigger is back in top form with this new mecha anime. It feels like the true successor to both Kill La Kill and Gurren Lagann. I thoroughly enjoyed the first episode. The animation is top notch and the fight
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What a strong debut! The show is like Kill La Kill, Gundam 00, and Gurren Lagann all had a baby together, which for me is awesome because it combines concepts from series that I love. Studio Trigger is back in top form with this new mecha anime. It feels like the true successor to both Kill La Kill and Gurren Lagann. I thoroughly enjoyed the first episode. The animation is top notch and the fight scenes are dynamic and flashy. The characters are interesting. My personal favorite is the mischievous mad scientist/top notch soldier 002. The concept of male and female pilot pairs is interesting and original. I plan to tune in to watch it each week and you should definitely give it a watch!

This show has a very slow build up exploring relations ships and what it means to be human in a world where humans have stripped themselves of humanity. Kids raised more like machines than people struggle to understand how to relate to each other.

World building Is slow and gradual but almost every episode, You get a new puzzle piece of the bigger picture, Prepare to take a while to start
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This show has a very slow build up exploring relations ships and what it means to be human in a world where humans have stripped themselves of humanity. Kids raised more like machines than people struggle to understand how to relate to each other.

World building Is slow and gradual but almost every episode, You get a new puzzle piece of the bigger picture, Prepare to take a while to start putting things together, But it's done very well.

The action takes a back seat to characters, This show inst' really about the mecha at all, and the action is more of a backdrop for where the characters are in their relationships, but the writing Is very creative and tells it's story very differently than anything I'm used to. And I always am excited about what surprises the next will bring. Episode Charter development has been pretty great.

I didn't like the protagonist at first, he seemed far too stale and passive, but as episodes when in my opinion of him has really changed as I've come to realize that given the environment he was raised in he's actually a very strong and independent individual, steps ahead of everyone around him.

Episode 13 was a real treat the brought on some feels and Had some Elfen Lied vibes. (not in the gore and nudity department) but in some very similar mood and concepts.

I've noticed many people complaining about the slow pace or the last few episodes being "filler". when to be these episodes were filed with charter development and interesting unique writing. I guess if you're expecting a fast-paced action mecha show then this show just isn't for you.

Personally, with each passing episode, my enjoyment of this show is becoming on par with some of my personal favorites such as FMAB Fate/zero and Gurren Laggan.

I will admit by the second episode all of the sexual innuendos had me feeling rather uncomfortable in terms of the focus for this series. At this point in the series Im starting to get the feel of whats going on and rather than cringe I feel myself accepting all the sexual references as part of the art style/aesthetic. I was worried that the show would rely on its sexual nature too much and start
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I will admit by the second episode all of the sexual innuendos had me feeling rather uncomfortable in terms of the focus for this series. At this point in the series Im starting to get the feel of whats going on and rather than cringe I feel myself accepting all the sexual references as part of the art style/aesthetic. I was worried that the show would rely on its sexual nature too much and start to slide into ecchi territory (no pun intended). THIS IS NOT THE CASE. I feel the sexual nature of the show is less of an innuendo and more of a metaphor and references the intimacies of interconnected relations between two individuals. Im excited for further development, I honestly haven't had this much fun with an anime for a while!

I have no illusions to what this anime is and tried to be. It's a romance anime disguising itself as a mecha anime with a lot of political and social commentary.

I didnt think the poly/soc commentary in the show was particularly deep. I mean, it's not like it isnt something that hasnt been said and done before... but it is refreshing
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I'll do my best to keep this one short and to the point.

I have no illusions to what this anime is and tried to be. It's a romance anime disguising itself as a mecha anime with a lot of political and social commentary.

I didnt think the poly/soc commentary in the show was particularly deep. I mean, it's not like it isnt something that hasnt been said and done before... but it is refreshing to have it said time and again, because it does need to be every so often.

Now i had absolutely no problem with the ideas the more episodes i watched, but the presentation and execution was downright sloppy in most cases.

This anime had the potential to be outstanding, and the ideas were fantastic. Unfortunately, it did not live up to itself and instead played it extremely safe by giving us a formula that was already done before...

I've watched all 25 episodes, and i have to say the ride was... interesting, to put it extremely generously.
The show started off very strong in the first episode.
The world was unique and set up in a brilliant way, and the characters were all introduced very well too.
People could argue that it was very much like TTGL (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann) from the very start in that humans are being suppressed by a superior race and are forced to essentially live in a post apocalyptic world, but i honestly never got that impression from the beginning.

i wouldnt say this show was bad by any stretch.
Now... that's not to say that it was any good, either.

Because episodes 2-9 were an absolute slog.

Remember how exciting and fresh episode 1 was?
Well take all of that away.
Throw in a lot of mellow drama, the strelizia doing something cool maybe once every couple episodes for 10 second and completely lackluster/meaningless character interactions and you have that 8 episode stretch down to a tee.

Epsidoes 2-9 were mediocre as all hell.

Now episodes 10-15, on the other hand? They were really enjoyable.

And you know what? it was very much the same sort of stuff that we saw in the previous episodes with a lot of character focus and minimal action set pieces.
What was the difference, you ask? The things that happened actually had significance.
We got much more insight about the sort of world our characters live in.
The characters were developed in meaningful ways.
We had actual plot progression.

Things were happening in a way that mattered to the narrative, and the characters themselves. And it was great!
Unfortunately, things don't stay that way for long.

episodes 16-19 were pretty non descript in the same way that 2-9 were. not much else to say there.

and oh my god episode 20 has to be...

Spoiler Alert! Click to show or hide

one of the worst plot twists i've ever seen in my entire life
the show literally turns into gurren lagann in that "the klaxosaurs(beastmen) werent our true enemies, and it turns out our true enemies are spacemen who want to annihilate all of earths inhabitants(the spiral races)". Episode 21-24 is a continuation of that "arc", and the only parts i found enjoyable were when the kids were having a normal life by farming and doing other miscellaneous things. oh. and that 5 minutes where everyone was in space to get the super strelizia(super TTGL) to the warp gate. that was also pretty cool.

Now let's talk characters.

...None of them particularly stand out with the exception of 002, Hiro, and Dr. Franxx. Becuase the show actually puts a lot of focus on them

Spoiler Alert! Click to show or hide

with Dr. Franxx development coming near the end of the series right before he dies, giving us virtually no time to really care about him. he has no defining character qualities, we just get a lot of insight into his past.. which, again, who cares?

Hiro is easy to tackle: He's generic shounen/anime protag #900. Nice guy to a fault, loves to help his friends even at the cost of his own well being, gets the hot girl without being particularly special or doing anything impressive. This cliche is getting pretty tired, but it's still an easy one to role with so i dont really knock the show for it.

002 is also a pretty simple character to break down, in that shes a callous woman who doesn't care for anyone but herself until her ice cold heart is warmed up by our Hiro (haha, get it?) and she becomes true to her (and every other girl in anime that's just like her) natrue and becoems very gentle, considerate, and kind hearted.

Ichigo: Well, her defining characteristic is that she loves Hiro. I mean... yeah. That's basically it. She's also the leader of their squad (but not really).

Zorome, or as i like to call him Discount Na(Bo)ruto, is a head strong dummy who bullied Hiro at first, but quickly became his pal again after their extremely shallow conflict got resolved.

Miku is just a girl version of Zorome, but i'll admit i did enjoy the dynamic between hr and Zorome (being that they were paired)

Ikuno is the quiet nerdy girl with no characteristics other than being in love with Ichigo. Yeah, go wild with that one i guess.

Mitsuru is a completely boring block of wood with a chip on his shoulder about Hiro, which like Zorome, gets over it pretty fast once the benign conflict gets resolved.

Futoshi just love to eat and loves Kokoro. That's basically it.

Kokoro is the sweety of the show. The cupcake if you will

Spoiler Alert! Click to show or hide

That is, until she cucks fatty hardcore by straight up lying to his face and saying she'll be his partner forever, and then turning her back on him within a ten minute time span. For Mitsuru no less, whose about as boring as Ikuno is.

Goro is the overly-reasonable best friend to Hiro, who is in love with Ichigo

By the way, are you noticing a pattern with these characters, in that their defining characteristics is that they like eachother?

My problem is that none of these characters have any depth as people. Some of their pasts and back stories get fleshed out well enough, but these characters themselves feel like aliens pretending to be people.
None of them stand out. At all. The interactions is where i derived most of my enjoyment from this series as a whole, but even then only about half of them were actually worth a damn.

The show was geared more towards growing the cast as a collective, rather than individually.
But this idea doesn't work when there is so much more focus put on Hiro and 002 than all of the other characters. So they all end up falling flat.

And i mean that's pretty much all i have to say.

I hate the fact that i don't particularly care for this show. Because, again, it had great potential.

I haven't been this disappointed with a series since Sword art: online, however i wouldnt put this show on the same tier of awful that SAO is.

Should you watch this show?

Honestly, despite everything i said, i would say yes.
The show is as mid tier as it gets and it doesn't really go out of the box, but it still has a lot of enjoyable moments even though its not being as good as it could have been.
But at the end of the day, id' honestly say to just go and watch Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann instead or at the very least before watching this for some points of reference and the fact that it's much better.

My reviews arent exactly popular, and i realize that, but that aint gonna stop me from writing them.
So until next time!

I thoroughly enjoyed the first two episodes (all that is available ATM). So much so that I re-watched them multiply times which is pretty out of character for me as I normally can't be bothered to watch something more than once. Darling in the FranXX is a solid ace for me.

As of the first hour of so of content I can say with a good amount of confidence that this is well worth watching. It does very well at introducing its characters and world without giving you too little or too much.Basically, do yourself a favor and just watch it, your brain will thank you later.
----Possible Spoilers Past This Point---
Is it original? As it is with any series, debatable. The
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As of the first hour of so of content I can say with a good amount of confidence that this is well worth watching. It does very well at introducing its characters and world without giving you too little or too much.Basically, do yourself a favor and just watch it, your brain will thank you later.
----Possible Spoilers Past This Point---
Is it original? As it is with any series, debatable. The art style and functioning (Libido power stuff) of the mechs is similar to Star Driver, the driving force of plot around the MC is similar to Argevollen where he's the only one who'll be accepted. These kids were raised in a lab for one purpose similar to those in Hamatora, like Bungo Stray Dogs most all of their names have some meaning/reference to reality. The way some characters see the Mc is like how Chidori sees Katsuhira in Kiznaiver and the sheer brute force of the mechs and blood from both the creatures and humans reminds me of Iron Blooded Orphans. I'm sure you could also throw Eureka Seven, Kill La Kill, My Hero Academia and a few others in there lol

TL;DR
A frakenstein monster of Trigger shows and popular anime tropes stapled together with the word PROCREATE and poor writing.

How do I sum up Darling in the Franxx? Where do I start? Do I address the large cast of characters that get spread across the entire series, even though 95% of them are essentially useless? Do I address the lackluster "Mecha" battles that end just as fast as they
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TL;DR
A frakenstein monster of Trigger shows and popular anime tropes stapled together with the word PROCREATE and poor writing.

How do I sum up Darling in the Franxx? Where do I start? Do I address the large cast of characters that get spread across the entire series, even though 95% of them are essentially useless? Do I address the lackluster "Mecha" battles that end just as fast as they start? Do I address the atrocious pacing at the end, which tries to wrap everything up in 3-4 episodes, ONLY TO INTRODUCE MORE? Do I talk about the complete lack of a proper villain, with the main villain switching to something completely unrelated?

There is so much WRONG with Darling in the Franxx, so much is ripped straight from Trigger's other shows, yet it lacks that Trigger charm. It feels like it was created by committee to appeal to as many as possible, spreading its characters, plot, and setting thin to appeal to everything, drawing influence from dozens of other "popular" anime to fill the gaps. It forced drama where drama wasn't needed and handwaved important aspects until it felt it was confident enough to shower us in its "original" take on it, which felt disingenuous as anyone could predict it a mile away.

I think I would recommend Darling in the Franxx if you want to examine how a show can go wrong, how a show with SO MUCH PROMISE, SO MUCH HYPE, can flounder so helplessly.

It's a love letter to the anime community, except they spelled everything wrong, it's written in crayon, and it's actually a death threat to procreate or die.

Ok ok all innuendoes, and sex jokes aside. There really isn't a whole lot to go off of with only two episodes so far. But, you cant help but be completely drawn into this. The animation is beautifully done, and its refreshing to have thematic developments entirely around playful sexual chemistry. Honestly, I started the show the second episode was released and have watched both over multiple
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Ok ok all innuendoes, and sex jokes aside. There really isn't a whole lot to go off of with only two episodes so far. But, you cant help but be completely drawn into this. The animation is beautifully done, and its refreshing to have thematic developments entirely around playful sexual chemistry. Honestly, I started the show the second episode was released and have watched both over multiple times. There is an enchanting mystery around this. Really looking forward to see where it takes us over the next 22 episodes.
*Tips hat to Trigger*

About the Show

The distant future: Humanity established the mobile fort city, Plantation, upon the ruined wasteland. Within the city were pilot quarters, Mistilteinn,
The distant future: Humanity established the mobile fort city, Plantation, upon the ruined wasteland. Within the city were pilot quarters, Mistilteinn, otherwise known as the “Birdcage.” That is where the children live... Their only mission in life was the fight. Their enemies are the mysterious giant organisms known as Kyoryu. The children operate robots known as FRANXX in order to face these still unseen enemies. Among them was a boy who was once called a child prodigy: Code number 016, Hiro. One day, a mysterious girl called Zero Two appears in front of Hiro. “I’ve found you, my Darling.”
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